A broken wrist from a fall is worth hiring a lawyer when two things are true: the fall happened on someone else’s property because of a condition they should have fixed, and the fracture required real treatment, meaning a cast, a reduction, or surgery with a plate and screws. A distal radius fracture is a common fall injury and a legitimate claim. Whether it is worth pursuing depends almost entirely on whether the property owner can be held responsible, because the injury itself is rarely in dispute.
The thing that decides a fall case in California is notice. The owner of a store, an apartment building or a parking lot owes reasonable care to keep the property safe, but is not responsible for every hazard. The question is whether the owner knew or should have known about the condition and failed to fix it. A puddle that had been on the floor of a Ralphs for forty minutes with no inspection is a case. A grape dropped by another shopper ninety seconds before you stepped on it is not. The evidence that answers the question, surveillance video, sweep logs and incident reports, belongs to the store, and it is overwritten within days unless someone demands it.
Should I hire a lawyer for a broken wrist from a slip and fall?
Yes, when the fall was caused by a hazard on someone else’s property and the fracture needed medical treatment beyond a brace. A lawyer’s job in a fall case is to secure the video and inspection records before they disappear, prove the owner had notice of the hazard, and value the injury including surgery and loss of function. Without that evidence, the property insurer denies most fall claims as a matter of routine.
What a broken wrist actually involves
People put out a hand to catch a fall, and the wrist takes the weight. The usual result is a distal radius fracture, sometimes with the ulna, sometimes with the scaphoid. A nondisplaced fracture is casted for six weeks. A displaced fracture is reduced, sometimes under sedation, and casted. A comminuted or unstable fracture is fixed surgically with a volar plate, followed by weeks of immobilization and months of hand therapy to recover grip and range of motion. Older adults often lose some permanent motion. For anyone who works with their hands, a dominant wrist fracture can mean months without income.
The costs add up. An emergency room visit at Providence Holy Cross, orthopedic follow-up, imaging, a surgical repair and hand therapy can produce paid bills of $15,000 to $40,000 in a surgical case. Add wage loss for a dental hygienist or a mechanic who cannot work for three months, and the economic damages alone justify the claim.
A dominant hand fracture in an older adult is often more than an inconvenience. Loss of grip strength means difficulty with jars, doorknobs, driving and dressing, and a wrist that heals with a visible deformity or chronic stiffness is a permanent change. A surgeon’s note describing residual loss of motion is the evidence that supports a claim beyond the bills.
How premises liability works in California
Civil Code 1714 makes everyone responsible for injuries caused by their lack of ordinary care. For property owners that means reasonable inspection and maintenance. The claim requires proof of a dangerous condition, proof the owner knew or should have known about it, and proof the owner failed to act reasonably. A wet floor sign is evidence of what the store did, not a legal requirement; a sign placed after the fall does not help the store, and the absence of a sign does not decide the case by itself.
Common fall cases we see in the Valley: a wet entry at a Costco in Northridge on a rainy day with no mat; a raised sidewalk slab outside a strip mall on Reseda Boulevard; a broken step at an apartment building in Van Nuys that tenants had complained about for months; a parking lot in Chatsworth with a pothole at the edge of a drive aisle. Each one turns on how long the condition existed and what the owner did about it.
If the fall was on public property, a city sidewalk, a Metro station, a county building, a written government claim is required within six months under Government Code 911.2. Missing that deadline ends the case. Private property gives you two years under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1.
What the property insurer will do
The first response is usually a denial letter saying the store had no notice of the hazard. The second is comparative fault: you were looking at your phone, you were wearing sandals, the hazard was open and obvious. In a pure comparative negligence state those arguments reduce the recovery rather than bar it, but a fifty percent reduction on a $60,000 wrist case is $30,000. The third is the claim that the fracture was from osteoporosis or a prior injury. And the insurer will ask for a recorded statement early, hoping you will say you did not see what you slipped on, which it will later read back as proof there was nothing there.
What you should do now
Photograph the hazard and the area before it is cleaned up, with something in the frame for scale. Report the fall to the manager and get a copy of the incident report or at least the manager’s name. Get the names and numbers of anyone who saw it. Keep the shoes you were wearing. Get the wrist treated the same day and follow the orthopedic plan. Then call a lawyer quickly, because a preservation letter demanding the video has to arrive before the system overwrites it, which at many stores is a matter of days.
Questions people ask next
What if I fell at work?
Injuries at work go through workers’ compensation, but if the property is owned by someone other than your employer, a separate claim against the owner may exist.
What if the store offers to pay my medical bills?
An offer to pay bills is often paired with a release that ends the claim. Do not sign anything before the fracture has healed and the full cost is known.
Is a sprained wrist from a fall worth a claim?
It can be, if the liability evidence is strong, but the value is much smaller and the insurer will push back harder. A fracture with surgery is a different conversation.
Vaheh Manoukian handles fall cases personally, sends the preservation demand immediately, and builds the notice evidence the property insurer expects you not to have. Call (818) 818-5031 for a free consultation about your fall.
